By RAY LANE and KOMO-TV STAFF

Updated 10:00 pm, Saturday, September 4, 2010

Five people died last week in violent confrontations with police in the Puget Sound region -- and some people now are asking why there isn't a less deadly way of dealing with aggressive suspects.

Meanwhile, investigators were still looking into a sixth incident on Friday night in which police opened fire on a man armed with a gun in West Seattle -- but he survived.

The week started off with a Seattle police officer killing a man at a busy street corner near downtown. John T. Williams was shot several times when he ignored the officer's repeated orders to drop a knife he was holding.

But the local Native American community says Williams was a known wood carver, and that's why he was carrying a knife. They also say he was partially deaf and may not have even heard or understood the officer's instructions.

Native American and Canadian First Nations leaders called a news conference Friday to demand a full investigation into Williams' death.

On Tuesday, Federal Way police fatally shot David Charles Young, 23, who was driving a stolen truck and reportedly tried to run down an officer who approached him.

Also on Tuesday, Pierce County sheriff's deputies used a stun gun on a 27-year-old man who reportedly was causing a disturbance at a Spanaway apartment complex.

A few minutes later, deputies noticed the man was having trouble breathing. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. An autopsy was inconclusive; the Pierce County medical examiner is still assessing the cause of death.

On Friday afternoon, a man was fatally shot in Tacoma by two police officers at a bus stop. They fired at the man after he refused to put down a knife. Police say he raised the weapon in a threatening manner, and lunged at the officers.

Then on Friday night, three officers opened fire on a 59-year old man at a West Seattle home after police say he pointed an AK-47 assault rifle at them. Police say he had earlier made suicidal threats.

Witnesses said they heard up to 12 rapid-fire shots before the suspect fell to the ground. But that man survived his gunshot wounds and currently is undergoing treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Then early on Saturday morning, 25-year-old Adam Colliers of Sultan died after a deputy stunned him with a Taser in the town of Gold Bar.

Investigators said Colliers was yelling in the streets, creating a disturbance, and confronted officers who were dispatched to the scene.

But at least one person who knew Colliers is now asking why deputies had to use a Taser on him -- since he weighed only 120 pounds and wasn't even armed.

In fact, more and more voices are asking why officers can't find a less deadly way of responding to individuals who pose a perceived threat to public safety. They wonder why officers always "shoot to kill."

"Shoot them in the arm, shoot them in the shoulder, shoot them in the leg," says Bob Aitkin of Tacoma. "Just to slow them down -- to stop them. But I don't think they have to take their lives."

But officers are trained to protect themselves and the public -- by "taking out" or removing the threat, and that can mean killing the person who has a weapon, police say.

Investigations have been launched into all the fatal shootings -- but it could be weeks or months before results are released.

Meanwhile, several officers are off the street on paid administrative leave while the investigations proceed.